Every year me and one of my best friends Tash plan a vacation to a different state, so for 2019 Tennessee was the place we chose. This trip was also with another one of my best friends, Javan and I am so grateful for the memories I've been able to make with these two. I'd have to say this is definitely my favorite vacation so far. Tennessee is such a beautiful place with great people. Everyone was so friendly and truly made you feel at home. It has an energy that you can't really explain until you see it yourself! So lets get you there! Our first stop was Memphis! It was the home to Elvis, Justin Timberlake, Three 6 Mafia, Aretha Franklin, and even Morgan Freeman!
MEMPHIS
Our first stop in Memphis was Sun Studio (706 Union Ave.) Sun Studio was opened January 3, 1950 by Sam Phillips, originally called Memphis Recording Service. This became the birthplace of rock and roll. In the early 1950's Blues and R&B artists like Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King, and Rufus Thomas recorded here. In the late 1950's Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Orbinson also recorded here. The first recording of Elvis was done at Sun Studios. The tour is only $15 so you won't be breaking the bank and it is absolutely worth the money. There's nothing like being in the place where so many artists were discovered and made such amazing music.
For more nostalgia I would suggest stopping by the Levitt Shell. It is free to see and would be a great place to take a pic! The Levitt Shell is where Elvis had his first paid concert. (1928 Poplar Ave.)
To end our night we had to go downtown and walk around Beale St. It has lots of restaurants and bars to enjoy and a fun atmosphere.
As you can tell in Memphis we were all about Elvis so naturally for breakfast we went to Memphis's oldest cafe and Elvis's favorite spot, The Arcade Restaurant (540 S. Main St.) I got the Country Fried Steak meal with 2 eggs and biscuits and gravy, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. We were lucky enough to sit in Elvis's booth and there was also a booth marked for JFK.
One place I recommend everyone should go, especially during this time is The National Civil Rights Museum, just $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, and $14 for children over 4, under is free. It was originally the Lorraine Motel where the late amazing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. Not only do you get a glimpse of Room 306 where Martin Luther King Jr. was staying but you will also see a replica of the bus that Rosa Parks rode in Montgomery. It gives you a great look into the fight for the Civil Rights movement and you will learn so much. I think that if everyone could visit this museum starting as children people would feel so different about race and racial equality. If you are able to visit Memphis this a place I would make sure you stop and take in. (450 Mulberrty St.)
It wouldn't be a trip to Memphis without going to Graceland. Graceland was Elvis's home for 20 years. It is so cool to see how he lived and I love how they left it just as he had it. Not only can you see his house, but you will also see all of his cars, and also inside his planes. You won't regret visiting here! There are many gift shops and restaurants that you can check out before or after touring the property. Ticket prices vary between $41-$180 depending on what you want to see. (3734 Elvis Presley Blvd.)
After doing some research I found a cool restaurant that used to be a hair salon that Priscilla Presley used to do her hair! It still has the original sinks and hair dryers. It is so cute and the food is so good! It is called The Beauty Shop. I had the Pork and Peach and I couldn't have enough.
After having dinner our next stop was Nashville.
NASHVILLE
Nashville was the place I had been wanting to go for years. I loved it so much and it is somewhere I could definitely see myself living someday. That being said, reading this you are going to be surprised that we didn't see the Blue Bird Cafe, Grand Ole Opry or the Country Music Hall of Fame. Believe me it wasn't because we didn't want to but what I didn't realize when planning this trip was that we came when most places were still under Winter hours. Winter hours meant that most tourist locations closed early. We went the first week of March, if you go around this time I would wait to go around the 3rd week of March.
One of our first stops in Nashville was The George Jones Museum (128 Music Ave). Not only is it a museum but there is also a restaurant when you walk in. It is $17 for adults, senior/students/AAA for $10, military $12, youth 6-15 $7, and under 6 is free to get in. This museum has so many cool things like George's outfits, his piano, signed football, awards, and even a giant rocking chair for you to sit on and take a pic.
If you want to pay tribute to George Jones he is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery (660 Thompson Ln)
Our next stop was the Johnny Cash Museum. It is in the same building as the Patsy Cline Museum. Unfortunately we weren't able to see the Patsy Cline Museum but next time I'm going to make it happen. I loved the Johnny Cash Museum, like the George Jones Museum it had his outfits, awards, books he had written, drawings he had made, pictures of him and his wife June, a replica of his mantle, and even costumes from the Walk The Line movie. When you are walking out of the museum you can't help but get emotional. Next door is the Johnny Cash Kitchen and Saloon. I am so sad this wasn't opened last year because I 100% would've had lunch there! The Johnny Cash Museum is $18-$20 to get in. (119 3rd Ave S)
Directly across the street from The Johnny Cash Museum is the Goo Goo Shop. If you have never heard or tried a Goo Goo, you don't know what you're missing! I'll explain, Goo Goo Clusters are a delicious gooey chocolate candy, inside is a mound of caramel, marshmallow nougat, and fresh roasted peanuts. They also have a few different flavor combos as well. So not only can you go into the shop and buy delicious Goo Goos but you can also check out the dessert bar, they have many different treats, sodas, and drinks. You can even take chocolate classes. If I haven't convinced you to go to he Goo Goo shop, there's more thing that might convince you, a wall of Goo Goos for you to take a perfect selfie lol
HENDERSONVILLE
Our next stop was to Hendersonville, 20 minutes away from Nashville.This is where Johnny and June lived until 2003 when then passed away. First we went to pay respects to Johnny, June, and the Carter family at Hendersonville Memory Gardens (353 E. Main St.)
When we finished paying our respects we wanted to got Johnny's favorite restaurant. Center Point Pit BBQ. After eating here I can tell why it was Johnny's favorite place. The portions are big and tastes just like you would picture southern bbq to be. It tastes just like a home cooked meal. Not only was the food delicious but the restaurant was so inviting, they had great staff and we even got to meet the owner. I convinced Javan to ask the owner if he had known Johnny Cash, which he had. He told us a story about how one day while at Johnny's, Johnny had some moonshine in his trunk and it basically exploded. June wasn't too happy about it but the owner of the restaurant told Johnny to sign the dash board and sell the car and he did. Made a nice profit too. Center Point BBQ is a great restaurant and not pricey at all. You need to make a trip if you end up in the area.
Once we were done with dinner we were ready for a drink so we decided to go to Music Row, we went to the famous Tootsies, just a warning, Tootsies is going to be so packed! We also went to Jason Aldean's, and Coyote Ugly. Every place you go on Music Row has live music which is awesome! There is so much talent in Nashville. Coyote Ugly does not have live music but it so fun and they have some Jell-O shots that you're going to die for! Just like the movie you can get on the bar and dance. It was such a good time here.
The next day we decided to take a mini road trip 3 hours away to Pigeon Forge.
Pigeon Forge
Pigeon Forge is different from any place I'd seen. We don't have anything like it in New Mexico. It is a mountain town perfect for a family vacation or with friends, with so much to do. We spent a full day here. There is so many attractions like Alcatraz East, The Titanic Museum, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and of course Dollywood! You can do activities like The Island Rope Course, Outdoor Gravity Park, Mini Golf, and so much more. There is too many restaurants to choose from. I'm guessing you can spend a week there and you still wouldn't see it all. We chose to see Alcatraz East, a museum all about crime. They have everything from outlaws, to the mafia, serial killers, bank fraud, 911, missing people, any crime related thing you can think of. We saw John Gotti's suits to Ted Bundy's VW Beattle. If you love true crime you will love Alcatraz East.
Also in Pigeon Forge we went to the Titanic Museum. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the museum but it is really cool to see. When you get there they give you a card with a name and picture of someone who actually was on the Titanic and you will be that person, at the end of the tour they tell you if you survived and what class you were in. There is so much memorabilia in this museum as well as interactive displays. They have displays of wood to climb that are steep as if the boat was up in the air to see if you can walk up. There is also an iceberg surrounded by water that has the same temperature as when the Titanic was sinking so you can see how cold it was when they hit the water.
Last but not least if you head to Pigeon Forge, Dollywood is a must! Like I said before look into the dates before planning your trip. Dollywood does close part of the year and unfortunately for us we went a week too early! That wasn't going to stop me from taking a picture in front of the sign though. Well, there is no where to pull over so we continue going up the hill and into the parking lot. We end up passing where you would usually pay to get it in and drove all the way down to the sign. Keep in mind it is late at night and raining a little. My friend's didn't want to get off the car understandably but I was determined. I get off hearing these noises, telling my friends that Tennessee must have weird animals lol I walk up a little hill and get to where the sign is and right when I'm about to take my selfie I get a call from Tash that security is at our rented truck (we had a Georgia license plate). So I say okay, that I would be right down and try for another selfie as fast as I can. Right when I was about to take it I hear "Excuse me, mam". Then I proceed to apologize saying I am from out of town and just wanted to take a picture. They said they understood that I was from Georgia (I agreed, I'm not lol) but that I had to get down, and that I set off the alarm, (the weird animals I was hearing). One of them also let me know the pay a lot for landscaping. Needless to say I did not get my selfie but I did get a good story out of it. This is the pic I did get. (2700 Dollywood Parks Blvd)
Before heading back to Nashville and our hotel we had one last stop to make 11 minutes away from Dollywood we went to Seviervielle. To see the Dolly Parton Statue. It is really easy to find and a great place to get an instagram pic. (125 Court Ave)
As you can tell we were making the most out of this Tennessee trip. The next day we headed to Loretta Lynn's Hurricane Mills, yes she owns the town. It is about an hour away from Nashville. Our first stop was to Loretta Lynn's Kitchen for breakfast, this is the place you go if you want so great country cooking. You can order from the menu or hit the buffet. They even have a gift shop inside. (15366 SR-13, Hurricane Mills) This is a great spot before checking out Loretta's house.
After a delicious breakfast we headed to Loretta Lynn's Ranch about 10 minutes away. Not only can you tour her beautiful home, there are many museums, you can check out her tour bus, and buy you a little something in the gift shop. You can even camp there, you can take your RV or tent, or even rent a cabin. You can swim, fish, kayak, and even go to a campfire show. Different tours vary in price, for a full tour it is $30, just museum is $17.50. To camp, RV full hookup is $40 per night, RV water and electric is $35 per night, and if using a tent it is $20 a night. There is so many spots to take pictures, it is a beautiful place to walk around.
(8000 Highway 13 South)
Tennessee is full of history that's why we decided to check out President Andrew Jackson's Hermitage. It is 25 minutes outside Nashville. The property is huge, so plan on being here for a few hours. There are many things to do like various exhibits, tours, slave quarters, and the mansion. Before coming to Andrew Jackson's Hermitage I wasn't aware of the slave quarters being that I didn't do much research about this place. I do think that it is good to learn and see how things were before our time. They also offer tours that give you more info on the slave quarters and the people who unfortunately were enslaved there. It is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, youth 13-18 $15, children 5-12 $10, active military and 4-under is free to get in. They also have family passes for $54. Pictures aren't allowed inside the house. (4580 Rache's Ln)
We ended up staying at Andrew Jackon's Hermitage until closing and it was our last place to see in Tennessee. We headed back to Music Row and looked for souvenirs. Tennessee was such an amazing time and I hope I helped you find some great places to go. I was a little sad leaving because I don't feel like I got to do everything I wanted to do. I would say a week would be better then 4 days like we did. Once life is back to normal and we can safely open up the country I am planning on taking another trip to Tennessee and hopefully ending up moving to Nashville. If you enjoyed this blog please like, comment, and share, and if there's any places you like to hear about please let me know!
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